Personal devices such as digital still and video cameras that are stand-alone or built into smartphones are widely available and used, but may not be able to provide images from viewpoints that the customer cannot access or when the customer desires a professional quality image of a special event taken at a time or from a location that is not conducive to using a personal devices. One example is a stadium during a game, where the customer may find it attractive to have an image or a portfolio that includes the customer and perhaps friends and is taken in a way that is not possible or practical to take with a personal camera. In addition, it may not be possible or practical for a customer to attractively format images taken with personal devices and to create electronic or printed portfolios, or to include sound or other images that are not easily accessible to the customer or to create composited images.
The sale of photographs taken by a photographer of a customer in, for example, a theme park, cruise, hotel, resort, or other event where there are large volumes of people present is known in the art. This approach has inherent inefficiencies, in that the photographer typically prints many more photographs than are ultimately sold, and the sale is dependent upon the customers viewing and agreeing to purchase the photograph displayed after the event, thereby losing momentum caused by the excitement of the moment.
An additional issue with known systems is that images from certain vantage points, and including objects at a site being visited by the customer, which may comprise, for example, still or video images, are typically not possible or practical when taken by a photographer at a defined location within the site. Thus achieving viable perspectives to capture an image at a site from an optimal vantage point may be impossible for the customer.
Another issue with the known approach is that some sites do not permit photography at all, or may not permit flash photography, owing to security and/or other concerns. Such prohibitions can prevent the customer from capturing desired images that can comprise priceless memories.
Further, a customer may desire a photograph to be taken at a time when a photographer is not in the vicinity.
Another particular difficulty with photography in general is that there is no universally practical availability of good quality photograph then the photographer him/herself can be in the picture, nor of that person with a group. Personal camera equipment is typically not sufficiently sophisticated to produce a good product, and extra equipment, such as tripods and other accessories must be hauled along to accomplish self-photos. In the realm of videography, there is no practical way to film oneself when the camera is moving. Further, the technical skill is typically lacking, and professional quality photographs or videos taken by amateurs are rare.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for more efficiently capturing and delivering photographic and/or video images and possibly related audio to a customer. It would also be desirable to provide systems and methods wherein the customer him/herself can be a subject of the image, especially in locations where amateur images are unavailable or impractical. It would be additionally desirable to provide systems and methods for efficiently culling a collection of many images to select a desirable subset and for distributing a collection of images captured at a site.